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Good News Roundup for Friday, February 10, 2023: Carry On [1]

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Date: 2023-02-10  

Welcome 🌻 to Friday’s Roundup of Good News!

Friends, I’m still high from Biden’s SOTU speech. We’ve been wondering why any senior could vote R when the Rs want to cut Social Security. Well, I don’t think the seniors knew. More of them know now. Biden’s speech, his masterful handling of the hecklers, has brought that issue forward.

President Biden has gotten so much done. Why aren’t his poll numbers better? Here are some reasons:

Some achievements are not felt yet. Insulin has been capped at 35/month in Medicare, but that only started in January 2023. It’s being worked into the system; some will be reimbursed. Many of the infrastructure projects have not yet broken ground. Things are just starting.

The media has done a terrible job of reporting Biden’s good stuff. Sure, it’s amusing to follow GOP antics and tRump criming, but because of this, people simply don’t know about a lot.

The Rs lie all the time, and if you’re in an echo chamber, you may not know a lot of the good stuff. You may not know the Rs dream of cutting Social Security.

Many (including me) have worried that Biden might be too old for this stuff. But except for calling Schumer the minority leader, President Joe Biden hit it out of the ballpark the other night.

There’s still LOTS to do. President Biden kept saying, let’s finish the job (I think that is being tested as a campaign slogan). Let us will carry on, while the crazy Rs keep carrying on.

Come in, my friends, and see some of what the good guys are doing.

Regular Scheduled Programming

No one here is naïve; we are aware of the many who are fighting to destroy our country. Some of us expected it: the cheating, the lying, the chaos, and yes, even the attempts to cling to power despite the clear will of the people. But we are here to read the efforts and the positive results of those (including us and our fellow gnus) who are working so hard to save our country from those very bad people. We are furious with them for what they are doing and we are letting them know. Remember:

💙 There are more of us than there are of them.

💛 They are terrified when we organize. THERE IS LOTS OF EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE TERRIFIED!

💔 They want us to be demoralized. The best way to keep up your spirits is to fight. So, take the time to recharge your batteries, but find ways to contribute to the well-being of our country and our world.

🗽 Biden as President ! 🗽

Biden, Harris and their administration have been hard at work. Here are the last week’s posts at the White House briefing room.

👎 Out with the Bad, In with the Good 👍

👍 Renewables to become top electricity source by 2025 Charlotte Elton, Euronews.greem

Renewable energy will become the world’s top source of electricity within three years, new data reveals. Demand for electricity is very high - and growing. According to the International Energy Agency’s Electricity Market Report 2023, 90 per cent of new demand between now and 2025 will be covered by clean energy sources like wind and solar, along with nuclear energy. This growth in output means that renewables will become the world’s largest electricity source within three years - providing 35 per cent of the world’s electricity and overtaking coal.

👍 👍 👍 Democrats win three special elections in Pennsylvania Adam Edelman, NBC News

Pennsylvania Democrats won a trio of state House special elections Tuesday night, handing them a clear majority. The victories give Democrats the upper hand in a chamber that has seesawed in control since the November elections, resulting in a bipartisan "independent" speaker arrangement that quickly went sour. But with Tuesday's wins, the Democratic Party now is in a stronger position to block GOP-led initiatives, including a potential anti-abortion ballot measure.

This is excellent news. It is also a reminder that our margins are really tiny, and we have to be vigilant.

👎 DeSantis disgusting in Florida — but so far the HS students are winning — at least this round.

x VICTORY -- Florida will NOT try to collect menstrual data from high school student-athletes. The organization that was going to require the data be collected and sent to schools has backed down.



However: I doubt this fight is done. Vigilance, always. — Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) February 9, 2023

👍 Restoring after the fire:

x Assembly Work Begins on Notre Dame’s New Spire—On Track for a December 2024 Reopening https://t.co/kLLqwiFEPF pic.twitter.com/kgJIgJx5Um — Creative XX Change (@createxxchange) February 8, 2023

Senator Fetterman — stroke ruled out. Rebecca Falconer, Axios

Doctors treating Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) at the George Washington University Hospital on Thursday released the results of an MRI — and other tests — ruling out a new stroke, his communications director Joe Calvello said in a statement. Driving the news: Fetterman was hospitalized on Wednesday after he "began feeling lightheaded" during a Senate Democratic retreat in Washington, D.C. What they're saying: "John is being monitored with an EEG for signs of seizure," said Calvello in the statement.

We’re all sending good thoughts Fetterman’s way, but I am worried about his health.

💣 Republicans: Party of Crimes and Chaos 💣

Hearing to embarrass Bidens not going as GOP planned Justin Baragona, The Daily Beast

Spurred on by the so-called “Twitter Files,” the House Oversight Committee hearing on Twitter’s decision to temporarily block a 2020 New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop was supposed to show overwhelming proof that the social media giant was engaged in anti-conservative “censorship.” Instead, former Twitter officials revealed on Wednesday that former President Donald Trump not only received preferential treatment for years, but he also directly requested the site remove tweets that he didn’t like. At the same time, they also noted that President Joe Biden hadn’t contacted Twitter to take down any tweets or censor content.

The GOP has a tRump problem — but as Graham said a long time ago, they deserve it

x Let's be clear: Trump is threatening to take his MAGA base and walk if he's not the GOP nominee https://t.co/GstwC6DYl2 — Mike (@Mike71442212) February 7, 2023

Fracturing among the Rs Isaac Stanley-Becker, Washington Post

As the 2024 presidential election cycle gets underway, the political arm of Turning Point USA, the influential right-wing nonprofit run by Charlie Kirk, is losing a key asset: Students for Trump. Students for Trump has leased its popular web domains and social media accounts to Kirk’s Turning Point Action since 2019, supporting the group’s move into more explicit campaign work and solidifying its identity for donors as the country’s premier conservative youth movement. With more than 1.3 million followers across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Students for Trump has amplified Turning Point’s online megaphone, making its messaging go viral and rallying its activists around the former president. Now, Students for Trump is clawing back control over those assets, according to contract documents and people familiar with the situation, raising questions about how closely Turning Point will be associated with Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. The split, which has not been previously reported, shows how the Turning Point network, which gained prominence over the last seven years because of its proximity to Trump, is wrestling with its role and direction as parts of the GOP seek out an alternative standard-bearer.

Mitt Romney and George Santos don’t like each other! Herb Scribner, Axios

After the speech, Romney told NBC News that Santos was "a sick puppy, he shouldn’t have been there."

NBC News that Santos was "a sick puppy, he shouldn’t have been there." “Given the fact that he’s under ethics investigation he should be sitting in the back row and being quiet instead of parading in front of the president," he said.

Per Semafor, Romney told Santos that he didn't belong in Congress. The Utah senator then called Santos an "ass." Santos replied by calling Romney "a much bigger asshole," according to Semafor.

🚚 💙 Democrats Deliver 💙 🚚

President Biden gave a fantastic speech, even though many were saying, just write a letter. To quote Evan Hurst from Wonkette

Here's a fuck around and find out moment for ya. Barely Speaker Kevin McCarthy told his people not to do any outbursts. Presumably this includes his work wife Marjorie Taylor Greene. Shit lotta control he's got. He is not the Republican caucus's boss. They are his boss. So during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, there were great big pant-shitting crybaby Republican outbursts, and Biden used them to his complete advantage. For instance, when he masterfully tricked Republicans into becoming performatively furious about the very suggestion that they want to destroy Social Security and Medicare. He tricked them into cheering for Social Security. Biden quipped that he had finally achieved "unanimity" on something.

x Possibly the single best moment of any State of the Union ever. Absolutely masterful. pic.twitter.com/AFoeY73NzS — MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) February 8, 2023

As several pundits have noted, maybe it’s not a good idea to debate the president when he has a mike and you do not.

And President Biden is staying on point! And he’s reminding (or perhaps informing) the voters of Florida (Rick Scott) and Wisconsin (Ron Johnson) that their own senators would kill these programs.

x President (Dark Brandon) Biden:



“I know that a lot of Republicans - their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare. Let me say this - if that's your dream - I'm your nightmare”



pic.twitter.com/HX3gwl2AZ1 — Chris Strider (@stridinstrider) February 9, 2023

Balloon down!

x So...the decision to shoot down the thing was done on Weds. We monitored it, jammed its sensors, and gained intel on its capabilities, waited until it was out range where a crash could cause civilian harm, shot it down, and this is what is causing a million MAGAs to lose it. — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 4, 2023

💜 Unity? 💜

Romney puts country before party. Not sure if this belongs in the Unity section, but at least Romney refuses to speak stupid.

x “I believe that the administration, the president, our military and intelligence agencies, acted skillfully and with care. At the same time, their capabilities are extraordinarily impressive.” - Sen. Mitt Romney https://t.co/oiVo2bAlPH — Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) February 10, 2023

Investment in Kansas Kansas Commerce

TOPEKA – Today, Governor Laura Kelly announced Kansas-based Integra Technologies plans to invest $1.8 billion in a large-scale semiconductor facility in Wichita. This is the second-largest private investment in Kansas history. The facility will establish Wichita as integral to a national effort to reshore semiconductor manufacturing capacity and strengthen national security. Employee-owned Integra is a fully integrated provider of semiconductor packaging, testing, qualification, and other services. The 1 million square-foot plant and headquarters facility will create nearly 2,000 high-paying jobs averaging $51,000 in wages. A Wichita State University economic impact study estimates an additional 3,161 jobs will be generated by suppliers, construction labor, and other service positions. ✂️ Integra has been approved as the 2023 recipient of Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion (APEX) incentives, paving the way for the company to apply to the U.S. Department of Commerce for CHIPS and Science Act funding. Integra’s expansion plans are designed to address recent risks identified in the U.S. semiconductor supply chain, support domestic semiconductor production, and strengthen advanced manufacturing in the State of Kansas.

We can see the impact of the bipartisan CHIPs act. Of course, President Biden is a D. As is Governor Kelly.

Dinner and a Dialogue Andy Corbley, Good News Network

After a man in Ohio got in a fight with some friends over political positions, he realized the country needed a new method of agreeing to disagree. He created a gathering called Dinner and a Fight, but fight is crossed-out and replaced with “dialogue,” and after 11 such meetings people continue to show up— all with varied opinions, from left to right and independent. In a Greek Orthodox Church in Akron Ohio, about 30 people sit down for a buffet-style dinner, all the while eyeing five chairs at one end of the hall next to signs that read “agree strongly,” “agree slightly,” “neutral,” “disagree slightly,” and “disagree strongly.”

I think anyone who is trying to tone down some of the divisions deserves an applause.

📥 Actions You Can Take 📤

Tax-exempt organization complaint referrals. 13909. You can fill this out for the NRA and lots of other organizations. How about if some of us white folk go into some of the MAGA churches and video record what they’re saying?

Voting rights. This may be the biggest issue threatening our democracy right now. Besides contacting your representatives at the state and federal level to do the right thing (depending on who they are), you can support and contact these organizations:

ACLU — American Civil Liberties Union

Democracy Docket — founded by Marc Elias, so important in fighting the challenges after the last election.

Fair Fight — founded by Stacey Abrams

🌱Grass roots. Biden and Harris can do the top-down stuff, but we have to support from the bottom. I don’t know how to deprogram 75 million people, but some things have been written about, such as deep canvassing, and lots of people are talking about this. If you know someone (who did not storm the Capitol), then see if you can be pleasant. Instead of trying to reason with them (logic is obviously not their strong point) distract them with something else. We need to remove the sources of lies and to take down the temperature. If we get more of the Rs to wear masks and to get vaccinated and to vote for Ds, the country will be a better place. We need to coax some of them out of the rabbit holes and diffuse the anger and the crazy.

🏃 Run for something. If you want to run for something, but have no idea what to do, these people will help you. They also like money and volunteers to help those people who are running, so even if you’re not in a position to stand for office, you can help. Note: they are especially planning to target the 57 Rs in local governments who participated in the insurrection.

👎 Defund the seditionists. Defund the seditionists. This is a list with companies that sometimes have donated to the seditionists. The list is long. You will recognize many of the corporations, and you probably have a relationship with some — either you are a customer, a shareholder, or maybe even an employee. Contact them and compliment or complain, but let them know you are watching. Forward it to others.

🔎 Want to check out what’s going on with campaign contributions? Check out this diary. 👀

🐍 Schadenfreude 😈

Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team are hard at work:

x He was also asked if there was any flack from trump about Krebs' statement that 2020 was the most secure election ever. Krebs was fired after that. A similar line of questioning happened in the Johnny McEntee testimony. END/ — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) February 9, 2023

More importantly, they have subpoenaed Mike Pence! Finally! And, I really think this has to do more with the stealing the election stuff than the documents stuff. Pence might be able to shed some light on tRump’s general bad handling of documents, but Pence certainly did not help tRump pack up his stuff. Besides, at the end, tRump and Pence were barely talking. It also may mean that Jack Smith is pretty far along. And Jack Smith is not shirking. Remember, Pence knows the “pressure Pence campaign” better than most.

O’Keefe from Project Veritas on paid leave as the organization considers his future Kaila Philo, Talking Points Memo

The rightwing provocateur James O’Keefe may face the music tomorrow. O’Keefe, who founded and is synonymous with the conservative media outfit Project Veritas, was put on a paid leave while its board of directors is set to meet on Friday to consider his employment status, New York Magazine first reported. Project Veritas wouldn’t confirm any of the details of O’Keefe’s situation.

Another day, another insurrectionist sentenced:

x ALERT:



The man who paraded Confederate flag thru Capitol on Jan 6 is going to prison for three years https://t.co/9LR5sWWokQ — Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) February 9, 2023

President Biden isn’t the only Biden in the news, of course, but son Hunter is fighting back:

x NBC News: Hunter Biden's legal team has sent letters to Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon and 11 others, asking them to preserve potential evidence for future lawsuits related to the alleged theft of personal data that may include information from his laptop. @MSNBC — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 9, 2023

Shell’s Board of directors being sued for handling of climate Rosie Frost, Euronews.green

Shell’s board of directors are being personally sued over their alleged failure to properly manage risks associated with the climate crisis. The lawsuit says the British oil giant’s 11 directors have breached their legal duties under the UK’s Companies Act by failing to bring their climate strategy in line with the Paris Agreement. Environmental law charity ClientEarth, which filed the lawsuit, says it is the first case in the world that looks to hold corporate directors personally responsible for failing to prepare for the energy transition.

📣 Let’s Honor Truth ☀️️

📚 👍 Publishing company offers free black books to FL kids Kaila Philo, Talking Points Memo

Haymarket Books, a “radical publisher of politics, culture, current events,” announced the initiative after the College Board decision to water down its AP course last week. “The racist governor of Florida continues to escalate his attacks on the freedom to learn and teach history,” they said in a statement. The books Haymarket is offering include “From Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation,” a book about the racial justice movement by academic and New Yorker writer Keeanga-Yahmatta Taylor; “Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice,” a compendium of essays from parents, students and teachers involved with racial justice; and “1919,” a poetry book by scholar Eve Ewing depicting the Chicago race riots of 1919. The publishing house said that they’re connecting with Floridians to directly distribute the books to students across the state.

🌹 Let’s Celebrate Love ❤️

Volunteers (Loose Ends) finish craft projects for the dying Caitlin Huson, Washington Post

Karen Sturges was knitting five baby sweaters, one for each grandchild’s future baby, when she was suddenly diagnosed with lymphoma. She did not have much longer to live. ✂️ “The thing that she was most worried about was finishing these sweaters,” said her daughter Annie Gatewood, 53. “She was just distraught that she didn’t think she was going to be able to finish.” Sturges worked on them until four days before she died in 2021. Gatewood and her sister held on to the two remaining unfinished sweaters, not sure what they would do. Neither one knew how to knit. Then in the late summer of 2022, Gatewood, who lives in Harpswell, Maine, was matched with a “finisher” in Portland, Maine, named Sarah deDoes — now one of more than 1,000 volunteers who complete unfinished fiber arts projects for grieving loved ones through a group called Loose Ends.

People often step up — or drive up — when there’s a disaster. Here’s an example to help those in Turkiye:

x This is the lineup of cars in the Netherlands who are waiting to drop off relief supplies heading to Turkey.#Humanity 🌍 🇹🇷

pic.twitter.com/kyLA8Gc0tw — Goodable (@Goodable) February 6, 2023

The dogs step up too:

x From the tragedy that brings so much loss, sorrow, & human suffering comes great kindness.

Search dogs from all over the world are being sent to the #TurkeySyriaEarthquake to help find survivors. Travel safely & swiftly you little heroes. @Goodable https://t.co/qwUmicA2BO. — NFRSA (@The_NFRSA) February 8, 2023

📎 Odds & Ends 📎

The city where 3rd graders train to be engineers Ariel Gilreath, Reasons to Be Cheerful

The brown paper bag hit the ground with a smack. A Michelin engineer picked it up off the concrete and opened it, revealing a cracked, leaking egg. The third graders at A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School of Engineering groaned in disappointment when they saw the runny mess. Then, they made way for the next group of students, who were eager to drop their own bag from the staircase in hope of a different result. A coffee filter parachute was attached to the bag, and inside, an egg sat nestled in cotton balls. The students were anxious to see if the paper contraption they built would blunt, or at least slow, the egg’s fall. Alas, it didn’t. “Scrambled eggs!” the engineer called out. It was engineering week at A.J. Whittenberg, a public elementary school in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, that focuses on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in its curriculum. One week per month, engineers from local industries visit the classrooms and talk to students about their careers.

It’s a longish story, and Fair Use prevents me from taking more. But these people are making a difference.

The buy nothing craze is not so crazy Maura Judkis, Washington Post

Who wants this raccoon skull? This possibly haunted baby doll? This toilet seat? These three mismatched spoons? A landline phone shaped like a shoe? The answer is, almost always, somebody. Especially if it's free. Liesl Clark and Rebecca Rockefeller started the Buy Nothing Project as an experiment on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle. The idea was to encourage their neighbors to give away unwanted possessions instead of trashing them, and to take others' things instead of buying something new and adding to the heaps of plastic junk circulating the globe. People can also use the app to ask if other people in their communities have a thing they need and would be willing to part with it - for free. That part is important. Members are prohibited from selling and trading, or even mentioning the monetary value of items. By design, each participating neighborhood has its own volunteer-led group - to keep the giving close and convenient, though this presents issues regarding access and equity - rich neighbors give away fancier stuff, and more of it. People swap their stuff over Facebook or the Buy Nothing app. The movement spread dramatically over the last few years and now encompasses more than 7,000 groups.

I’m curious to know if any gnusies have tried this!

Germany can meet its energy needs with an earlier coal exit Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch

Germany is in the midst of a debate about when it will stop using coal. While the current coalition government under Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to phase out the highly polluting fossil fuel by 2030, states in the country’s east want to maintain an earlier, less ambitious target of 2038. Now, a report from the Federal Network Agency finds that Germany can meet both the 2030 deadline and its energy needs. “The report by the Federal Network Agency approved by the cabinet today shows that electricity demand can be reliably met at any time between 2025 and 2031,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is a member of the Green party, said in a press release Wednesday. “This also applies if electricity consumption increases significantly due to new consumers such as electric vehicles and heat pumps and the phase-out of coal takes place by 2030.”

🍓 🍎 🍑 🍆 Short flights contribute a lot to climate problems. In this announcement (translated from the German by Google translate and yours truly) Aldi Suisse says they will no longer sell fruit and veggies that are transported by air:

With immediate effect, ALDI SUISSE will no longer fly in fruit and vegetables, making its supply chains even more sustainable. ALDI SUISSE is also a pioneer in the promotion of local strawberry producers on the Swiss market and has only been advertising strawberries during the Swiss strawberry season since last year. At the beginning of the year, ALDI SUISSE faced down the situation directly and gets down to business. With immediate effect, the Swiss retailer will no longer fly in fruit and vegetables. The amount of goods imported by plane has already fallen sharply in recent years. The items concerned were gradually switched to more climate-friendly transport alternatives. ALDI SUISSE completed the changeover at the beginning of 2023 and achieved the goal of no longer flying in fruit and vegetables.

🐦 I do a lot of other writing. A recent offering: Hunters of the Feather, a story about a thinker-linker crow who wants to save birdkind from extinction, and the sequel, Scavengers of Mind. (They’re really good! They’re really cheap! Buy and review or rate positively! And Hunters is also available on Audible!) Other stories, based on Jane Austen novels — including a new one for lovers of Pride & Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet’s Advice to Young Ladies — and others on Greek mythology, can be found here. All titles are available through Kindle Unlimited, but I only get paid if you turn the pages.

💙 What You Can Do to Rescue Democracy 💙

It turns out that participation in democracy is not just an every-four-years event but requires active participation, like, whenever you can find time.

Current projects:

Look in the comments for Progressive Muse’s report on Postcards to Voters

And some other ideas:

You can relax and recharge.

You can join protests and freeway blog.

You can help register new voters.

You can smile.

You can say something nice to friend or a stranger.

You can get out the vote for special elections.

You can reach out to upset Republicans. We need to win some back.

You can share your ideas below.

🌻

💙 “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial, and victory is never assured.” 💙

President Joseph R. Biden

🌹 🌹 🌹

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